NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has been lauded far and wide for his handling of the Donald Sterling Affair, and rightfully so.

Silver took the harshest actions available to him by suspending Sterling for life and fining him $2.5 million, then publicly urged the league's Board of Governors to take an additional step and force the exiled Clippers owner to sell the franchise.

The other big winner in all of this is Kevin Johnson, the former Suns point guard who was the playmaker once again.

It was Johnson, now the mayor of Sacramento since 2008, who stepped forward as the face of the National Basketball Players Association at the urging of Clippers guard Chris Paul.

In this case, Paul wasn't just asking as leader of the Clippers. He also happens to be president of the NBPA, the union that represents all of the league's players.

KJ spoke forcefully for the union and worked with Silver to assure that Sterling got the most severe penalty possible.

But what else would you expect? The guy is on one of those seemingly unstoppable rolls reminiscent of his playing days.

He worked out a new arena deal in Sacramento that kept the Kings from relocating to Seattle.

He was named president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, succeeding Mesa's Scott Smith.

He was named as a finalist for the Basketball Hall of Fame.

He was tabbed to head a search committee to select the next NBPA Executive Director to replace the deposed Billy Hunter.

OK, so he wasn't actually elected to the Hall of Fame, the only zero on his boxscore recently. But we're going to call "foul!" on that, being that Mitch Richmond was elected and in our mind KJ was a superior player.

Anyway, KJ's leadership success has led some to speculate that he might head the NBPA, but that would seem like a step backward for a guy who made his living by relentlessly going forward.

There even is speculation that the next step might be the governor's office in California.

For now, though, he seems to be focused on his job as mayor. On the day of Silver's announcement, the Sacramento Bee reported that KJ juggled some interviews with national cable and network news organizations, took a call from Vice President Joe Biden, fronted the NBPA's news conference and then flew back in time to attend Sacramento's City Council meeting that night.

C'mon. How hard could that be for a guy who once played 62 of a possible 63 minutes in a triple-overtime game during the NBA Finals, scoring 25 points, handing out nine assists and grabbing seven rebounds while — oh by the way — guarding Michael Jordan?

Eight men (or women) out

So where does Sterling belong on the list of the most notorious sports figures, many who also were banned for life for cheating, fixing games or worse? Here is an Infamous Eight. We'll let you rank them.

Donald Sterling. His lifetime ban is in place and there seems to be no argument over Silver's authority to impose it. Forcing Sterling to sell might not be so cut-and-dry. But Silver knew where he stood when he took to that lectern.

Tonya Harding. Of course she maintained she didn't know beforehand that her husband was plotting to attack Nancy Kerrigan at the 1994 U.S. Figure Skating Championships. And if you believe that, you probably believe Sterling's wife has been ignorant of his beliefs for 59 years.

Barry Bonds. While he has never admitted his guilt and is not banned from the game, Bonds will forever wear the size 7 3/8 cap that represents the steroids era.

Lance Armstrong. While Barry may have cheated to hit a lot of home runs, at least he didn't subsequently attempt to sue and intimidate every person that questioned the validity of his accomplishments.

Pete Rose. Banned for life for gambling on baseball as manager of the Cincinnati Reds, Rose has been unable to get a reinstatement that would allow him into the Hall of Fame.

Jack Molinas. After being exposed for fixing games while he played at Columbia, which resulted in his suspension for life from the NBA in 1954, Molinas was involved in a much bigger point-shaving scandal in 1961. It involved 22 college basketball teams and 37 players.

Arnold "Chick" Gandil. The Chicago White Sox first baseman is believed to be the leader of the Chicago Black Sox, the conspiracy among eight players — including "Shoeless" Joe JacksonCQ — and some organized crime types to fix the 1919 World Series between Chicago and the Reds.

Federal Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis was appointed to investigate the mess, suspended them all for life and later was named the first Commissioner of Baseball.

O.J. Simpson: Tried for murder in the deaths of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman, the "Juice" somehow managed to avoid a whole different kind of lifetime suspension.

Reach The Heat Index at 602-444-8271 or bob.young @arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on Twitter @BobYoungTHI.